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史上信息量最大的一首单曲

(2019-10-25 07:11:24) 下一个

早在两千多年前的欧洲,就有吟游诗人带着鲁特琴或者其它简单的乐器,到处传颂着王公大臣的英雄事迹。这些吟游诗人游街串巷云游四海以吟唱为生。每到一处,根据收益的多少来决定吟唱的时间长短。如果地域富庶可以挣很多银子,那就吟唱很长时间,有的时候,一个故事可以连续吟唱一个多月,一直到人们听腻了才转移战场。很多年之后,我们国家也出现了类似的职业,比如评书,京韵大鼓,相声,各种戏剧等等。

那个时候的艺术表现形式,以吟唱为主,不过,每次吟唱的内容都是不太一样的。

后来,有了五线谱,人们记录下来了曲调和歌词,吟游诗人逐渐被更专业的人取代。故事被分解,被细化,每一个段落或者每一个演出记录的信息量有限。

1989年,Billy Joel 推出了他火爆几十年的单曲:We Didn't Start the Fire.

那个时候,Billy Joel 火遍全世界而且历久不衰。他的这首单曲信息量爆棚,一直到现在,仍然是信息量最大的一首单曲。

我们先读一读他这首歌的歌词:

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray 
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio

(第一段就包含了美国总统杜鲁门,好莱坞影星多瑞斯呆,红色中国,美国歌手强尼雷,南太平洋,美国专栏作家沃尔特文切尔和美国棒球明星酒迪马济奥,这每一个名字都能写一本厚厚的书。)

Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe

Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, "The King and I" and "The Catcher in the Rye"

Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc

Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron
Dien Bien Phu falls, "Rock Around the Clock"

Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland

Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Krushchev
Princess Grace, "Peyton Place", trouble in the Suez

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, "Bridge on the River Kwai"

Lebanon, Charlse de Gaulle, California baseball
Starkweather, homicide, children of thalidomide

Buddy Holly, "Ben Hur", space monkey, Mafia
Hula hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go

U2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, "Psycho", Belgians in the Congo

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Hemingway, Eichmann, "Stranger in a Strange Land"
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion

"Lawrence of Arabia", British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson

Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex
JFK, blown away, what else do I have to say

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, (他居然还知道胡志明)Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, terror on the airline
Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan

"Wheel of Fortune", Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide
Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz
Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law
Rock and roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
But when we are gone
Will it still burn on, and on, and on, and on

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

这首歌的信息量超级大,各种人物、地名、事件说了个遍。提到和中国有关的就有几个地方:红色中国,周恩来,计划生育,中国的军事管制等等,有的版本还有 Chairman Mao 。

 

如今, Billy Joel 已经是一个老头了,但是,依然活跃。

大艺术家:笔力酒!

《版权单曲所有,翻印信息不究》

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阅读 ()评论 (16)
评论
mychina 回复 悄悄话 回复 '湾区范儿' 的评论 : 是的是的!
湾区范儿 回复 悄悄话 Billy Joe写完那首歌,显示出他不仅是歌手艺术家,还是优秀的社会学家。
mychina 回复 悄悄话 回复 'instein' 的评论 : 哈哈哈哈,我今天说的是歌词儿,哈哈哈
instein 回复 悄悄话 没有音乐细胞,今天感觉跟不上你的点儿,
mychina 回复 悄悄话 回复 '路边的蒲公英' 的评论 : 哈哈哈哈
路边的蒲公英 回复 悄悄话 当天对居民威胁最严重的一处山火发生在加州南部洛杉矶县圣克拉丽塔市边缘。当地时间13时45分报告起火,20分钟内过火面积就达到0.8平方公里。截至当天20时,过火面积估计已达到15.9平方公里,受控度为零,约4万名居民因此撤离。
======================
才读到,今晚我们都是加州人!
mychina 回复 悄悄话 回复 '路边的蒲公英' 的评论 : 看你说的,怎么又一点点星仔乐活的感觉呀?
路边的蒲公英 回复 悄悄话 We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it
=======================================
Hmmmmm, 很适合加州人民唱,特别是消防队员干活儿的时候。听说加州北边又烧起来啦?
mychina 回复 悄悄话 回复 '稳稳' 的评论 : 你就搞懂We didn't start the fire, 然后历史就是A了。
稳稳 回复 悄悄话 哈哈哈哈,明白了,原来牛哥的历史是音乐老师教的!
俺数学不好,请牛哥给俺找个教数学的音乐老师行不?
mychina 回复 悄悄话 回复 '多伦多橄榄树' 的评论 : 胡子很漂亮,哈哈
多伦多橄榄树 回复 悄悄话 别说,艺术家成大叔了,还是有范儿:)
mychina 回复 悄悄话 回复 '香水雨' 的评论 : 今天听十遍
香水雨 回复 悄悄话 本菇第一次听 历史老师用唱的上课多好呀 用心良苦的一首歌
mychina 回复 悄悄话 回复 '多伦多橄榄树' 的评论 : 学习知识,无处不在,歌里,梦里,吃里,行里,只要有意识,就在学习中。
多伦多橄榄树 回复 悄悄话 从一首歌里学到知识,而且还不累,我喜欢这个方式!
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